Match facts: India v west indies

West Indies kickstarts its defence of the ICC World T20 title against a confident India




Friday’s win against Pakistan would have come as a huge relief for India, a team that was short on confidence after failing to beat its arch-rivals in the Asia Cup recently.

India, besides keeping its unbeaten record against Pakistan in World Cups intact, will now carry some much-needed momentum when it faces a tough opposition in West Indies. West Indies will be extremely high on confidence and is big on momentum, thanks to convincing wins against England and Sri Lanka in the warm-ups.

While West Indies will look to kickstart its defence of the World T20 title on a positive note, India will look to inch a step closer to sealing its spot in the semifinals with a win on Sunday.

Here are some facts heading into Sunday’s match.

Facts:

These sides have only met three times previously in T20Is; West Indies has won two of them.

Samuel Badree (West Indies) has the best economy rate of any bowler since the start of 2013 to have bowled at least 200 balls in T20Is (5.03).

Chris Gayle (West Indies) has struck more sixes in T20Is since June 2012 than any other player (32).

Darren Sammy recorded figures of 4/16 the last time these teams faced off in this format.

India has won the last four T20Is in which it has batted second.

Approaching Milestones:

Suresh Raina needs six runs to become only the second India player to achieve 900 runs in T20Is (Gautam Gambhir was the first).

MS Dhoni needs to score 28 runs in order to reach the 800 run mark in T20Is.
If Chris Gayle scores four runs in this match, he will become only the 11th batsman to reach 1100 runs in T20Is.

Key Battles:

Suresh Raina v Sunil Narine

India’s Suresh Raina guided his side to a comfortable win over Pakistan in its opening ICC World Twenty20 match by making 35 in just 28 balls. His form could not have come at a better time having struggled for form in other formats for his country of late but while his form may have dipped, he should his unquestionable quality in playing a very mature innings.

Raina’s innings against Pakistan was characterised by a maturity in recognising the patience required to chase down a modest target, highlighted by how many singles he picked up.

Raina needs just six runs to become only the second Indian batsman to reach 900 runs in T20Is and although that sounds a straight-forward task, he could well be facing the wrath of Sunil Narine.

Narine comes into this match having picked up figures of 4/24 against Sri Lanka and will back himself in the sub-continent to continue this sort of form.
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